Chief of Army David Morrison urges defence forces to adapt to change as it transitions from Middle East conflicts

Chief of Army David Morrison says he is confident the Australian Army is in good shape as it prepares to transition from the battlefields of the Middle East.

In a speech to the Lowy Institute in Sydney this week, General Morrison stressed the Army's commitment to developing an amphibious capability as it engages in the biggest rethink of the Army's mission statement since the end of the Vietnam War in the 1970s.

But as well as the changes to force structure, General Morrison has warned that unless the Army continues to address the demographic and cultural shifts in Australia it risks becoming an "occupational ghetto".

There are not too many leaders in Australian public life who regularly pepper their speeches with high-brow literary quotes and the theories of some of the world's greatest thinkers, but General Morrison is an exception.

As the Lowy Institute's James Brown noted after the General's speech this week on the future of the Army, this is a man who has the "courage to engage in the battle for ideas".

Not content with the usual nod to Clausewitz, General Morrison often branches out with with less predictable references.

The army's commitment to developing an amphibious capability is par to our force, general plans part of the developments are taking pace in this great national institution.

David Morrison

In one recent speech, Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard got a mention along with British commentator Colin Gray and American writer Max Boot.

One of his favourites is the great sea power theorist of the late 19th century, Alfred Thayer Mahan, and his assertion that the oceans of the world constitute ubiquitous highways.

For an Army man, General Morrison spends a lot of time thinking about the sea and the national investment required by an island nation like Australia to guarantee security and stability.

It is perhaps not surprising then that he pinpoints the development of an amphibious capability as one of the priorities as the Army transitions from the wars in the Middle East.

"The Army's commitment to developing an amphibious capability is par to our force; general plans, part of the developments are taking pace in this great national institution," he said.

Australian defence is shifting focus from Middle East

General Morrison is obviously well read and like most military leaders he has had to think hard about the nature of violence and war.

The digital age is a challenging time but even though Clausewitz would not recognise the modern battlefield, General Morrison argues the nature of war itself has not changed.

It is still a violent duel over policy objectives but technology he says has democratised violence.

If a boy from a village in Helmand province can trigger a device that will destroy your heavily protected modern armoured vehicle you are unlikely to find it useful to ask whether he is a state or not state actor.

David Morrison

After more than a decade engaged in the Middle East, the focus of Australia's Defence Force is shifting from the dusty villages of Afghanistan and returning to our own region.

Predicting the military operations of the future is an impossible task but it is pretty clear climate change, peacekeeping and humanitarian and disaster relief work will be among the primary areas of engagement.

None of that would be much of a surprise to a man who has spent a life in the Army but as he prepares to wind up his commission as Army Chief, he says the biggest surprise of his time was the cultural challenges.

"Without doubt, issues pertaining to culture, especially the expansion of opportunities for women to serve alongside men in all appointments without harassment, have dominated public perception of the Army in the last three years," he said.

General Morrison says his motives in leading the way in cultural change were not purely altruistic.

Delivering a force that can fight is what I'm about, but making it a better organisation in terms of the way we respect each other our army, our defence force and our country, that's the best thing I've ever done.

David Morrison

"Unless the Army and the ADF in its entirety stays abreast of the seismic shifts in Australia's demography and ensuing changes in the composition and age of our labour pool, we risk becoming an occupational ghetto; a smokestack industry that has failed to adapt to change in society norms," he said.

"I don't want anyone to misunderstand me. Delivering a force that can fight is what I'm about, but making it a better organisation in terms of the way we respect each other, our Army, our defence force and our country, that's the best thing I've ever done."